The Numbers On Water

• 0.007% of all water on Earth is suitable for direct human use. (Water Partners International)
• 70% of all available water is used for irrigation. (UNESCO)
• 70% of industrial waste in developing countries is dumped untreated into the usable water supply. (UNESCO)
• 30 - 50 times more water is consumed by a child in a developed world, compared to one in the developing world. (UNESCO)
• 507 conflictive events have occured on transnational water sources in the last 50 years. 200 treaties have been signed. 1,228 cooperative events have taken place. (UNESCO)
• 2 million tonnes of human waste are disposed into watercourse around the world every day. (UNESCO)
• 330 million people could be displaced by floods if the global temperature were to rise by 3 - 4 degree C. (HDR 2007/2008)
• 1.8 billion more people could live in water-scare environments by 2080 due to global warming. (HDR 2007/2008)

(Asian Geographic, No. 64 Issue 3/2009, Page 77)